Safety heel



May 9, 1939. NEUMANN 2,157,184

SAFETY HEEL Filed Oct. 25, 1957 lo- 9 f 7 3. 5

/2 F G. .3. mp/MM Zmd/j. W

Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE Application October 25,

1 Claim.

This invention refers to shoes and more particularly to the class known as rubber heels for the same. The objects of this invention are to provide a heel for shoes that will be non-catching on the bottom of the trouser leg in mens clothing, or the skirts and the like of the female garments; to have the heel arranged to suit wearers of different kinds; and other objects that will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

While it is appreciated that rubber heels, which may be made of rubber, composition, or material having the general appearance of rubber, have been used for a considerable period of time, the form of the heel is more or less standard and conventional as now publicly commercialized. In this type of heel, the inner corners are relatively square and serve to catch or lock on the trouser or garment of the person using them. This tears the cloth and sometimes trips up and injures the user. In this invention, the inner corners are substantially removed, rounded and chamfered without affecting the effectiveness of the heel, but providing an arrangement that slides off the cloth of the users clothing and does no damage to the clothing or to the user. Of course, from a production point of View, this saving in material makes a material economy in manufacturing, when thousands of these heels are produced wholesale.

At the same time, the base of the heel, where it attaches the shoe lift, is fully as covered in area as in the conventional form of heel. It may also be stated that this arrangement assists the user in placing rubbers on the shoe, for inclement weather.

In the drawing, which illustrates an embodiment of this invention:

Figure 1 is a side view slightly in perspective to bring out the construction of the heel at its inner false corners,

Figure 2 is a plan looking up at the resilient heel embodied in this invention,

Figure 3 is a detail of the resilient heel, in elevation.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

In the construction shown, I represents a conventional shoe, with its heel lift 2, on which a resilient heel 3 is mounted and attached. This resilient heel is made with its back 4 preferably sloped as indicated and rounded to suit the back curve or contour of the shoe. The inner corner faces 5 and 6 of the resilient heel are cut or chamfered downwardly as shown, and

1937, Serial No. 170,940

the corner materials are removed for a substantial distance I to provide two bevel side faces, which are rounded at 9 where they join the inner edge In of the heel and its lateral sides II, as well as the bottom 12.

The corners are chamfered at an angle of about 60 degrees vertically and at angles of forty-five degrees on both lateral sides horizontally, as indicated in the drawing. These particular angles have been found empirically to best suit the requirements for the rubber heel, in protecting its user.

The heel of this form, fits on the same area as that of a conventional resilient heel, but the portion in contact with the surface walked on by the shoe, is made with the inner edge formed as described. As the user wears the shoe with these heels, and bends the foot into a quasivertical position, their contact with the clothing, trousers, or garments, does not tend to hook or catch on same. This renders the heels safe for use to an extent that conventional heels do not provide. Thus, in dancing, the raising of the heel does not tend to catch on the clothing of other dancers in the vicinity. Also, bea.

cause of its lack of corners this new type of heel does not catch on stair carpets and trip the wearer like the conventional type tends to do. Those heels which apparently have rounded corners, have just the usual provision made for the easy removal of the heels from the mold. They do not have the substantial discarding of the corners and chamfered faces, which applicant has brought out in this specification.

While but one form of the invention is shown in the drawing, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular construction, otherwise than limited. by the prior art, as it is appreciated that other forms might be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In combination with a conventional type of shoe, 2. heel of resilient material, the breast portion of the heel having both of the corner portions chamfered oif symmetrically from a point on the corner lines adjacent the upper extremity thereof and diverging backwardly and downwardly at an. angle of approximately sixty degrees to the bottom plane of the heel and at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees with the side and front planes of the heels.

JOHN NEUMANN. 

